


A Tale for the Ages

by faewrites



Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, briefmentionsofgaston, buildingalifetogether
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:27:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25588249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faewrites/pseuds/faewrites
Summary: What happens after the Beast has returned to his human self, his beloved servants have become human again and Gaston is gone forever?Belle and Adam take things slow as they give one another time to get to each other.Their happiness seems eternal but the love birds soon come to learn that it is shortlived. They face a new threat, more powerful and more determined to drive them apart than ever before. At least one thing is different this time, this time they have each other.
Relationships: Adam/Belle (Disney)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 14





	A Tale for the Ages

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my very first BatB fanfic! Updates will be slow as I am currently writing a million other things, one of which is my neverending fantasy book and at the moment I am also really busy with a different fanfic (Sense and Sensibility related) on this platform, that is why updates will be slow. Forgive typos and inaccuracies!

Adam could scarcely draw proper breath, yet he was aware of the change happening in his body. He was aware of the presence beside him. He would always be aware of the person beside him. She was looking at him with her big brown eyes and she seemed scared, afraid even, but not of him. Of what was happening to him. It took him too much energy to keep his eyes open, so he closed them again. His back came into contact with the ground again and every sinew, muscle, bone and nerve had stopped hurting, burning, aching. He could think clearly once more and he forced himself to open his eyes. 

She warily came closer and he propped himself up. "Belle, it's me." She didn't seem to recognize him. Adam looked at his hands. His hands! He flexed them and closed them and couldn't keep the grin off his face. She loved him. Otherwise the curse wouldn't have been lifted off of the castle. It would never have been broken if she didn't love him. He wouldn't be human again without her. All that he was and had become, he owed to her. He vowed to spend the rest of his life fulfilling the debt he owed her. She moved closer and tilted her head in disbelief. Shock was still prominent on her face and had the circumstances not been so dire, Adam would have laughed at the puzzled expression her features had rearranged themselves in. It was truly a remarkable feat; Belle, speechless. 

Yet it caused Adam pain to know what the reason behind this silence was. He stared at her and hoped that she would somehow find her way back to him. Her eyes widened, either in alarm or recognition, Adam couldn't tell, and she carefully tucked a strand of his hair-- his hair! Back behind his ear. Her fingers gently and tentatively trailed over his cheekbone and she gasped. "It is you." Belle drew him near and a gut feeling in Adam made him respond in earnest without thinking. He pulled her into his arms and plied his mouth against hers. Somewhere far off he could hear cheerful shouts of servants, but it mattered not to him in this moment. He was human again and Belle was closer to him than ever before. They were kissing and he was human again and she loved him. 

She loved him. Belle loved Adam. The knowledge was too much to wrap his head around. She loved him. She had saved his life. She had sacrificed herself for the beast. Had sacrificed herself to the monster that had been released. Adam hadn't known Gaston, at least he assumed that was his name as that was what Belle had called him, and he was certain that he didn't want to know him. 

Gaston reminded Adam of his father. Shakespeare has said once that "some are born great, some achieve greatness and others have greatness thrust upon them." Adam was sure Gaston had fallen into the second category by cheating and lying and stealing. 

Belle wanted to pull away but a fear in Adam made him pull her closer again and kiss her with all his might. His blood was on fire and his heart had never thundered so loud. He needed to slow down. He pulled away and suddenly became aware of the ache in his bones. He looked at Belle and smiled wearily. She returned the weary smile with a wan smile of her own and Adam became aware and immediately alarmed by her pale complexion. The strength that had surged through his veins left him now and he slumped down. Belle followed and the last thing he felt was her weight settling on his chest before the world turned dark. 

◇♡◇

When Belle woke up, she thought she must still be dreaming. She was certain her ceiling wasn't adorned with gold embellishments and chandeliers. There were no painted cherubs on her ceiling if she recalled correctly. This, she concluded, was not her room. Suddenly she remembered what had transpired last night. The events that had happened. Her head was pounding and her mouth was dry. Her eyes were heavy and closed on their own accord. She wondered what had happened. Her back hurt. Gentle fingers stroke over her cheek and she clasped the hand tightly. "Adam?" A soft laugh. "Non, ma chérie, it is me, Lumière." She couldn't open her eyes. "Mrs. Potts is with the master." 

She gasped in pain when she tried to move and Lumière carefully pushed her rising shoulders back into the pillow they had risen from. "That brute shot at the master and you pushed him away. You saved the master. You brought him back to life. You saved us." Belle could hear the lump in his throat and her own eyes started tearing up when she heard his voice break on the last syllable. "I will bring round a pot of steaming tea and light some candles. Do you think yourself capable enough to receive a visitor?" Belle considered and nodded. He pulled away but she caught his hand at the last second. "Do not thank me for a returned favour. You saved me. You all did. You gave me friends and love and a family. I had Papa, but never anyone else. Thank you. You accepted my weirdness and never faulted or judged me for it. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for giving me a home." Belle's voice broke and she could scarcely finish her sentence before she doubled over in a coughing fit. Her eyes flew open and she could hardly smother the scream when she saw the specks of blood on her skin. Her mouth tasted like copper and her stomach turned. Her vision wavered and she whispered a name before she lost consciousness and the world was lost to her.

•♤•

Adam had gained a little strength and was able to get out of bed. He had denied Mrs. Potts complaints and bribes of hot tea and petit fours. He only wanted to see Belle. The thought of losing her made him feel light-headed and out of breath. He strode, scantily dressed still, through his castle and had to support himself on the stair landing as he felt dizzy. He paced through the east wing and halted when he found Chip anxiously and impatiently waiting outside the door to Belle's chambers. He couldn't suppress the grin playing on his lips as he looked at the little boy. He suddenly had a vision of a little girl and a little boy running through the meadows with him and his bride. Adam blinked and dismissed the vision. One step at a time and most importantly, Adam and Belle had the entire world to discover. He wanted to visit far off places, real ones, not just the ones in books. Only the ones he had read about and you could visit. His father had reigned with an iron fist over the country and it was up to Adam to set things right. Lower taxes and make sure people were cared for. Education for everyone. He would never have anybody else ridiculed for want of education. He had been laughed at most of his teen life by his tutors as he kept misspelling and misinterpreting texts. He couldn't help it, the letters kept dancing before his eyes and forming other words. It had been such a treat to hear those words he struggled with and hated partially for causing him such pains, form beautiful stories. He also loved how Belle's entire being changed when she spoke of education, stories and any and all books.   
"Hello Chip. Here to see Belle?" "Yes master. Lumière said he would call for me." Lumière opened the door and hurried past them. He halted when he saw Adam. "Master, Belle is unwell. I am going to get a doctor." "Call for her father as well. Please." Adam pushed the door open and ran into her sleeping quarters. The curtains were drawn and candles were lit. Adam didn't need the light to see that Belle looked poorly. Carefully he went to her side and stroke over her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open and Adam heard her soft gasp when she finally saw him. "Mon amour?" His heart thumped against his ribs after the words had left her mouth. She even sounded poorly. Adam could barely keep the sobs in. She reached out to him and he took it as an opportunity to slide under covers and pull her to him. She pushed at his chest in a futile attempt to separate them. "What of propriety?" Adam laughed softly. "We're the only ones here Belle. I am in no state to bring harm or pleasure upon your person. Is it me who should be protecting my virtue?" Adam blushed at his scandalous words. Belle didn't respond.   
Adam gently brought a hand to her wrist and her slow pulse. It's rhythm reminded him of that of his mother. Adam wondered how many times he had taken her pulse in her final days. How it had stopped and he had felt nothing. Absolutely nothing. He suddenly imagined Belle in that position and shivered. He held her a bit closer and held her, whispering all his feelings for her in her ear until the doctor entered her room and Adam helped bring more light into the room. He stood nervously next to Lumière and watched as the doctor got to work. She was so pale and small. So vulnerable. When the doctor was finished he gestured Adam to step outside with him. "She has lost a lot of blood and is running a high fever. She'll need lots of rest and fluids." The doctor left soon enough and Mrs. Potts stepped inside with tea and mignardises but Adam declined the confections and asked Lumière to help him move the large chair to the side of her bed. Adam watched Belle until he fell asleep. 

♤♤♤

She rose and coughed, Belle's eyes flew open from the force of it, and she trembled when she saw the blood on her hands. She whimpered in pain and clawed at her throat. Bile rose in her throat and before she could stop herself or hold it in, she vomited all over herself. She gagged and burst out in silent tears. Everything hurt. Her throat was on fire and she felt like she would faint if she sat upright any longer. She called out for the first person to enter her mind. "Mrs. Potts!" A rustling noise and Adam was by her side. Adam. Sweet, wonderful Adam. Belle didn't want him to see her like this. "Go away." "No. C'mon my love, let's get you out of this bed." Belle slapped at his hands and struggled out of bed. She fell on the floor and tried her hardest not to cry. "I don't want you to see me like this. In pain and sick. I don't want to cause you pain or infect you. Please leave. Adam, I beg of you, please leave." Adam stepped closer to her but she scrambled to her knees. Belle clamped the ends of his shirt and helped herself sit up. "Adam, I beg of you, please leave and call Mrs. Potts in here." "I'll run you a bath-" "no. Adam. Leave. Please!" He pulled away and left. Mrs. Potts entered the room with Plumette and the women opened the windows, ran a bath, and tried to help Belle up, but Belle had no strength left.   
Plumette left and Adam entered the room again. Before Belle could protest he had already put her down and left, after kissing her forehead. It only served to make her feel worse. He was so nice. He had changed so much over the last few months. Belle didn't protest Plumette or Mrs. Potts's hands on her back. They helped her bathe and then helped her dress. Belle couldn't feel anything but exhaustion. She really couldn't face Adam again. She reached for Mrs. Potts's hand and tugged on it lightly. "Is he still out there?" "Yes my dear." "Could you send him away please?" Mrs. Potts didn't agree with this, Belle could tell, but she needed some alone time. Needed to think things over. She was helped back into her bedroom and the linens had been changed. Mrs. Potts helped her lie down and pressed a kiss on her forehead. Belle watched her take her leave and pushed herself up. She fluffed the pillow behind her back and wished she had a quill, ink and paper on hand. She didn't. Loving a beast, or a magical creature was one thing. Loving a man was something else entirely. Belle didn't know why the two were so different. Well of course if her beloved was a beast certain things were not expected of her. If she loved a man, and now that she apparently did, things were expected of her. Wife's duties and such. She would be expected to marry and attend to Adam. See to his every whim. What if he had... urges? Belle was no fool.   
She knew very well what happened in a marriage bed. She also knew she was far from being prepared for anything like that. She was to mother children and attend balls with other royalty. The thought of all these things didn't make her sick to her stomach, but they make her feel caged and hopeless. If that was to be her future, she would have done exactly as everyone had expected of her. She would become someone's "little wife". Belle hated the thought of that. She wanted to see the world. Go out and explore. Go on adventures. What if Adam didn't understand this? Didn't understand her? Belle dismissed that last thought. If anyone knew her nearly as well as she knew herself, it was Adam. And she knew Adam better than anyone else. She did know Adam better than anyone else. Belle knew Adam was most likely going out of his mind with worry. He was probably close to losing his temper as well. 

"What do you mean I cannot see her? I demand to be let in!" "Master, the mistress said she didn't want to see you." "What is that supposed to mean? This is my castle and I will do whatever I please." Belle sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. Typical Adam. Mrs. Potts said something else that Belle couldn't decipher. "Oh." Belle's heart sunk. He sounded so defeated. She reached for the small bell on her nightstand and although she hated doing it, rang for aid. Mrs. Potts excused herself and stepped back inside. "What's wrong my dear?" "Please let him in." Mrs. Potts gave Belle a knowing smile and Belle was glad that she was still red from fever so that Mrs. Potts couldn't see the blush spreading on her cheeks. Mrs. Potts left and Adam entered the room within seconds. He sat down in the fauteuille next to her bed and looked at her for a moment.   
"How are you, my love?" He let out a surprised chuckle. He raised himself up and sat down on the mattress. He lifted Belle's hands and kissed them repeatedly. "I am well, amour, more than well. It is yourself you need to worry about." "You worry enough about me for the both of us." Adam laughed and stroked some of the hair out of Belle's face. He cupped her cheek and stroke over it with his thumb. He kissed the tip of her nose. "I love you. You were on the brink of death. I was close to losing my life when I had only just found it." The words dislodge something in Belle's chest and before Belle can keep herself from doing so, she has already wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him closer. He embraces her as well and strokes her back. "I love you too." "I know." He sounded smug. "I know because I am human again because of your love. How can I ever repay you? Your love has saved us all." "It wasn't just you I loved, I loved all of this. I love all of you." "But you only love me enough to marry, not the others, do you?" Ice set in Belle's chest. She knew it. She tried to appear unaffected. "Well Lumière can be awfully charming and I did promise Chip to grow old with him." Adam laughed again and pulled away. He sat back down in the chair. "Of course. I should have known about Chip. Belle, I hope you will not take this the wrong way, and knowing you means that you hopefully will not, but I do not want to marry you." Belle didn't know what to say. She didn't know if she felt elated or offended. Perhaps a bit of both. "May I ask why?" Adam took her hands again and kissed them gently. "I am young. You are young. I do not want the two of us to be weighed down by marriage and such things. I do not want children yet. I want to be young. I have been a beast for ten long years. I want to be with you as a young man first, not as a husband or a parent. I want to rule over our people first before I rule over children. I want to rectify all the wrongs my father has done and relieve the pains he has brought this country. I want to travel and see the world. With you. All of this with you. But by my side as my equal, not as my wife or queen. As my equal."   
Belle was speechless. This was the second time in mere moments that the words didn't fill her throat. The third time since she had come to know Adam. No-one had ever managed to make her speechless and he had done it thrice in the span of three days. "You are silent. Is that good or bad?" "Good. I feel the same. Before I called you in here I was thinking about this. A gigantic weight has been lifted off my chest. Thank you." Belle could breathe again and even felt a little better. "How have you taken to being human again?" "There were things I discovered-" Adam blushed and Belle couldn't keep her laugh in. Adam blushed harder. "I-yes, I suppose it is funny. And quite cumbersome at times too. I never had to deal with that before. How did you manage?" He blushed again. "I mean I know we-uh, differ, but I cannot imagine what it must have been like for you. With your cycles and such." Belle blushed. "You know about that?" "Well of course, I am twenty one. I know things." "I presume your father's consorts learnt you a thing or two?" "Nothing like that, but I know my anatomy." "And mine apparently." Adam laughed and the sound warmed Belle's heart. His face turned solemn again. "I hate that you did not let me attend on you." "It was only for a few hours." "You were gravely ill not too long ago. You were coughing up blood. I do not want to be from your side when you could be on death's door." "Adam, I am not going to die. I feel better. The injuries upon my person have been seen to and attended to. All I can do now is wait and heal. The only danger in such a process is the risk of immense boredom. "Of course! We must see to it that this will not happen!" "Read to me." 

He gulped and his face grew hot. This was perhaps more embarrassing than just earlier. Belle should know. Hadn't she heard him read? Of course not, Adam realized. Belle had only ever read to him. "I fear that I will have to disappoint you in that aspect. My reading is quite poor. I can read, very well even, but it is quite a feat." Belle stayed silent and waited for him to continue. "The letters. They dance before my eyes. All of these squiggly lines are so hard to decipher and staring at texts too long makes my head hurt awfully." Adam felt vulnerable and ashamed. He had never told anyone this. He preferred they would think him stupid but capable if applied properly instead of finding out that he was intelligent but incapable and could not be helped with careful application to texts and such. Belle took his hand and kissed it. She leaned out of the bed and kissed his cheek, then his nose and then his brow. "I could read and you could recite. Shakespeare is meant to be seen not read anyway." She had understood. Of course she did. Sweet wonderful Belle. She was perfect. Absolutely perfect. "I will go get the volumes. Shall I get the others?" Belle seemed a little shy. "No, there is no need to bother anyone with such silliness. I am already taking up your valuable time." "Nonsense. They would be more than happy to do it. Cogsworth has always fancied himself a great actor. He would be the perfect Hamlet." "You are certain that they would not mind?" "Without a doubt. Promise me one thing however, never read Romeo and Juliet with anyone but me." "It's not very romantic, if anything, it is quite tragic." "Only at the end." Adam couldn't detain himself and kissed her on the mouth. She didn't pull away and even kissed him back. He was delirious with joy. He pulled away and Belle looked a little stunned. She had turned pale again and Adam knew it would better if she would rest a little more. It was nearly night anyway. How would Adam be able to sleep knowing Belle was unwell? Adam didn't know. 

"Adam? I feel a bit faint and worn out. Can we postpone the play for a little while?" "Of course my love." She lowered herself and pulled the linen up to her chin. She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost instantaneously. Adam left her sleeping chambers and went to find the others. They would need to prepare and draw up a plan. 

♧♧♧♧


End file.
